Sometimes, Taking a Step Back Helps a Nation Move Forward
The disagreement over the imprisonment of Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera raises a question larger than the fate of one individual: can we find a solution that preserves the rule of law while allowing room for dialogue, compassion and dignity?
Some Buddhist monks demand his release. The government maintains that the law cannot be bent for any individual. When positions harden, every concession can begin to look like defeat. Yet history offers powerful examples of leaders who achieved more through compromise than confrontation.
In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union dangerously close to nuclear war. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev both faced enormous pressure to stand firm.
Ultimately, the Soviet Union agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba. The United States pledged not to invade Cuba and privately assured the Soviets that American Jupiter missiles in Turkey would also be removed. Both sides conceded something, helping avert a catastrophic conflict. Their achievement lay in finding a way out that the other could accept.
South Africa provides another lesson. Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk negotiated despite profound mistrust and a bitter history of oppression. Mandela maintained the goal of democracy while negotiating the arrangements for reaching it. Difficult agreements helped make possible the country’s first non-racial national elections in 1994. Compromise concerned the path to change; it did not require accepting apartheid as just.
In Northern Ireland, leaders from communities divided by decades of violence helped secure the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. John Hume and David Trimble showed the courage to seek agreement across deeply entrenched divisions. Making peace required them to persuade their own supporters that negotiating with opponents could serve their communities better than continued confrontation.
Egypt and Israel also found room for agreement after repeated wars. The 1978 Camp David Accords paved the way for their 1979 peace treaty. Israel agreed to withdraw from Sinai, while Egypt agreed to peace and normal relations with Israel. Although the agreement did not resolve the wider Middle Eastern conflict, it demonstrated how reciprocal concessions could transform relations between enemies.
These situations differ greatly from our present dispute. Their shared lesson is that leadership requires both conviction and flexibility.
In Sri Lanka, compromise must respect judicial independence and equality before the law. Dialogue can still address concerns about dignity, religious observance and prison welfare, while requests for release are considered only through lawful procedures. The voices of those affected by the underlying offences must also be heard.
The government can explain its position firmly and respectfully. The protesting monks can pursue their concerns while recognising the responsibilities and limits of public institutions. Both can leave room for a fair outcome without demanding the other’s humiliation.
Any agreement should be transparent enough for the public to understand and fair enough to withstand scrutiny.
A leader’s responsibility extends beyond satisfying the loudest supporters. It includes explaining why a reasonable concession may protect something more valuable than an immediate victory.
Sometimes, the wisest step backward is the one that allows an entire country to move forward.
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